WASHINGTON, DC, January 31, 2010 — The National Legal Aid & Defender Association (NLADA) is pleased to announce the selection of Edwin Burnette as the new vice president of Defender Legal Services. In this capacity, Burnette is responsible for the overall vision and leadership of the department, and for steering the national policy agenda.

“NLADA is extremely pleased to have Ed join the executive team at NLADA,” said Jo-Ann Wallace, NLADA president and CEO. “As NLADA continues its march toward ensuring that every state and territory in this country has a fair and balanced criminal justice system, Ed’s experience as a strategic leader will be a valuable asset in tying together state-based reform work with a solid, overarching national effort.

Burnette’s extensive professional experience includes leading large groups of people as well as working in the trenches as a public defender. He served as the public defender and the first assistant (deputy) public defender for Cook County (IL), the second largest defender office in the country where he oversaw the administration of a $56 million budget. Burnette has also handled capital and felony litigation as well as appellate representation on behalf of indigent clients.

Burnette began his career as an attorney with the Marine Corps, gaining experience in both prosecution and criminal defense. He received his juris doctor from De Paul University, College of Law and his bachelor of science from the US Naval Academy.

Burnette has served on numerous boards and commissions within the legal community, including, among others, serving on NLADA’s board of directors and as chair of the Criminal Justice Section of the Illinois Bar Association, a member of the board of directors for the Lawyers Assistance Program for the Illinois Bar Association, a member of the board of directors for the John Howard Association (prison reform work), a gubernatorial appointee to the Board of Commissioners for the Office of the State of Appellate Defender, as well as to the Sex Offender Management Board. He was appointed by the Supreme Court to the character and fitness committee for the first judicial district of Illinois.

"I am honored and humbled to be selected to serve in this position," said Burnette. "My commitment to equal justice is founded on my strong belief that justice is not a privilege but a right and that poverty is not a permanent stain on any one person but a community fault to be overcome.”

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The National Legal Aid & Defender Association (NLADA), founded in 1911, is the oldest and largest national, nonprofit membership organization devoting all of its resources to advocating equal access to justice for all Americans. NLADA champions effective legal assistance for people who cannot afford counsel, serves as a collective voice for both civil legal services and public defense services throughout the nation and provides a wide range of services and benefits to its individual and organizational members.